With the advent of in-line roller skates and their significant popularity, there have been many arrangements proposed in the art for braking and for locking the wheels. It is desirable to have the wheels quickly lockable so that a user can readily climb stairs which would otherwise be difficult with a rolling surface such as that presented on a roller skate or when the user is entering areas where skating is prohibited.
Of the arrangements that have been proposed in the art, an example is set forth in Canadian laid-open Application No. 2,116,091 where the Applicant has provided a wheel lock which is simply directed to a bent wire. The wire is configured such that it engages the wheels so that they do not rotate. The system is simply based on a tension principle for pressure contact with the wheels and comprises a loose piece which can be readily put on and taken off by the user. Although this arrangement appears to have some utility, it is clear that it is extremely dangerous to have a loose element which, due to the fact that the same is simple spring steel could, over time, become ineffective and present a dangerous situation to the user. As a further disadvantage, this arrangement requires the user to carry the lock around on his or her person and would appear to require a certain degree of manipulation in order to position the device on the wheels.
A further arrangement which is known in the art is that taught in Canadian Application No. 2,139,777, filed May 9, 1994 by Johann Perner. In the system disclosed, the arrangement involves an axle which is insertable within aligned openings in a frame on the skate, which frame permits the axle to be passed through to the other side of the wheel. The axle is engagable with a locking member in the form of a hook. The hook appears to be freely swingable on an axis and it would appear to be susceptible to disengagement from the axle when subjected to shock stress such as that which would be experienced when the user is on stairs, etc. In addition, this system would appear to require significant modifications to not only the wheel, but the chassis; such modification would quickly accelerate the cost of the arrangement and encumber the possibility of the arrangement being easily retrofit to existing skates.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,672, issued Mar. 18, 1975 to Bardy, teaches a walking roller skate device where the arrangement essentially provides a selectively actuable arrangement to ensure that the wheels are only forwardly rotatable.
Shifrin, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,021, provides a braking assembly for in-line skates. The arrangement is completely reliant on the sole of the skate boot and foot of the user for actuation of the device. The device is a brake arrangement as opposed to a lock for locking the wheels against rotation.
German Patent 143,245 discloses a further variation of a brake mechanism which appears to rely on action between the wheel axles and a brake member.
In view of what the prior art has proposed, it would be desirable to have a locking system which is quickly and easily employable and further which does not involve significant modification of the existing roller skate wheel chassis or other related components.